Walmart Announces New Store in Springdale

Elm Springs Road store brings approximately 300 additional jobs

SPRINGDALE, Ark., Dec. 20, 2012 – Walmart today announced plans for a new store at Elm Springs Road and North 48th Street, creating a new option for residents seeking a job or wanting more affordable shopping options close to where they live or work. The Elm Springs Road Walmart will create approximately 300 local jobs and is expected to open in the fall of 2014.

“Walmart is excited for the opportunity to continue to serve the people of Springdale and Northwest Arkansas,” Walmart Vice President of Real Estate Brian Hooper said. “We are thankful for the vision of Mayor Doug Sprouse of the City of Springdale, and especially the Hall family, who had the foresight to hold this property for development, to bring the people of Northwest Arkansas another opportunity to save money so they can live better.”

The 180,000-square-foot Elm Springs Road Walmart store will feature a full line of groceries as well as a bakery, delicatessen, frozen foods and meat, dairy and fresh produce sections. General merchandise areas include a full-service pharmacy, apparel and accessories, tire lube express, sporting goods, electronics, home, lawn and garden, fine jewelry and health and beauty.

“We are excited to see Walmart as well as additional developments find a new home in northwest Springdale,” said Sprouse. “This new development will continue to improve the quality of life for our citizens and broaden our tax base.”

Like most new Walmart stores, the Elm Springs Road Walmart will include energy-efficient technology and environmentally friendly features to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste. The store will have a day lighting monitoring system in the grocery area. This system automatically and continuously dims all the lights as the daylight contribution increases.

The new store will be equipped with a water-cooled air handling unit serving the sales floor with state-of-the-art technology to remove moisture and provide fresh air for healthy indoor air quality. The system allows the store to operate at a higher summer temperature, use less energy, and allows the refrigeration system to operate more efficiently. Additionally, the heat generated by the refrigeration equipment is captured to heat water for use in food preparation areas of the store.

“Walmart’s presence on this interchange, on this corner, will open up northwest Springdale like no other retail development could,” said Robin Lundstrum, daughter of Max and Margie Hall. “Coupled with street improvements, schools and a park, this development corridor will rival any in Northwest Arkansas. Springdale is truly open for business.”

Walmart employs more than 48,199 people at its 103 Arkansas locations and the average wage for regular, full-time hourly associates in Arkansas is $11.88 per hour. Additionally, Walmart spent more than $20.4 billion for merchandise and services with suppliers in Arkansas last year alone. As a result of those relationships, the company supports an additional 78,410 supplier jobs in the state.

About Walmart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 200 million customers and members visit our 10,400 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com﻿/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.c﻿om/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.w﻿almart.com and http://﻿www.samsclub.com.